It is known in the art that digital data can be transmitted to a destination by using a wireless link. It is also known that electronic cameras are capable of capture and transmission of digital images via a wireless link. An example of such a system is shown in U.S. Pat. No. 4,884,132, issued Nov. 28, 1989, to Morris et al. wherein a personal security system includes an electronic camera that is used to capture an image of an assailant. A wireless transmitter associated with the camera transmits the image via a cellular phone network to a storage device connected to the phone network.
In a wireless electronic camera system, once the image is captured it is then transmitted via a wireless communication link to an image fulfillment server for storage and further image processing. The system works well as long as the photographer stays within range of the image fulfillment server. But once the photographer moves out of range of the image fulfillment server, the transmission will be incomplete and that condition is not known to the photographer until he attempts to transmit another image. Once the photographer moves back in range of the image fulfillment server he needs to stop taking photographs, retrieve the image from memory and attempt to re-transmit the whole image. This results in lower productivity due to the loss of time and increased power consumption from the camera batteries. Presently, one of the main limitations in the use of portable electronic cameras is the availability of sufficient power from the batteries. There is a need therefore for improvements that reduce power consumption in portable electronic cameras.